rosiglitazone, Avandia

Omudhome Ogbru, PharmD

Dr. Ogbru received his Doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of the Pacific School of Pharmacy in 1995. He completed a Pharmacy Practice Residency at the University of Arizona/University Medical Center in 1996. He was a Professor of Pharmacy Practice and a Regional Clerkship Coordinator for the University of the Pacific School of Pharmacy from 1996-99.

Emmanuel Saltiel, PharmD, FASHP, FCCP

Dr. Saltiel received his Pharm.D. from the University of California, San Francisco, in 1980, following undergraduate work at UCLA. At UCSF, he was the recipient of the Outstanding Service Award and the Bowl of Hygeia Award. He completed a residency in clinical pharmacy practice at the University of Illinois, in Chicago.

Jay W. Marks, MD

Jay W. Marks, MD, is a board-certified internist and gastroenterologist. He graduated from Yale University School of Medicine and trained in internal medicine and gastroenterology at UCLA/Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

GENERIC NAME: rosiglitazone

BRAND NAME: Avandia

DRUG CLASS AND MECHANISM: Rosiglitazone is an oral drug that reduces the
amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood. It is used for treating patients with
type 2 diabetes and is in a class of anti-diabetic drugs called
thiazolidinediones. The other member of this class is pioglitazone (Actos).
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that is important for controlling
the levels of glucose in the blood. Insulin stimulates the cells of the body to
remove glucose from the blood and thereby lowers the level of glucose in the
blood. Patients with type 2 diabetes cannot make enough insulin or are resistant
to the effects of insulin (insulin resistance). As a result, the cells in their
bodies do not remove enough glucose from the blood, and the level of glucose
rises. Rosiglitazone often is referred to as an "insulin sensitizer" because it
attaches to the insulin receptors on cells throughout the body and causes the
cells to become more sensitive (more responsive) to insulin and remove more
glucose from the blood. At least some insulin must be produced by the pancreas
in order for rosiglitazone to work. Rosiglitazone was approved by the FDA in May
1999.

PRESCRIBED FOR: Rosiglitazone, combined with
diet and exercise is used for
treating type 2 diabetes in patients who have not responded to other diabetic
medications and cannot take pioglitazone (Actos). Rosiglitazone may be used
alone or in combination with other types of antidiabetic drugs such as
metformin (Glucophage) or sulfonylureas. Since it requires that individuals
produce some insulin to be effective, rosiglitazone is not recommended for use
in type I diabetes where the amount of insulin is very low or absent.

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